Print On Demand

NEW & Exclusive Print on Demand books only available to buy here at Tolkien.co.uk

The technology which now lets us print individual books in response to individual orders - print on demand, or 'POD' - is a real breakthrough and one we recognised would be of value to fans and collector's of Tolkien books.

Collectors will doubtless continue to seek out first editions, but a print on demand copy will fill gaps and provide an edition to read and enjoy. Enthusiasts who want specific books for their content can finally have a copy at an affordable hardback price. The full set also looks extremely impressive on our bookshelves here at HarperCollins and would make a spectacular personal library.

We have been careful to ensure quality is of the upmost standard and we're proud to have created the first ever hand-crafted, hardback, full-colour, print on demand series, working closely with Martins the Printers.This is an historic moment in publishing!

Key stages of manufacture

While digital printers mean we can provide high quality pages, the manufacture of The History of Middle-earth print on demand titles uses traditional book binding methods. In fact, more personal care and attention goes into the making of these editions than in the mass printing of standard editions. But please note the print on demand editions are based on scans of original books and may therefore contain flaws, errors and colour plate variations that existed in the original due to the processes used in the original manufacture.

The following steps are undertaken to create an individual bespoke volume utilizing a digitized version of the original printing:

3. Plates cut up and manually inserted into the correct position within the book.

4. Book is Glued and Lined to form the inside Bookblock of all pages.

5. The Bookblock is trimmed on three sides to the correct size.

6. End Papers and a Crepe Lining are glued onto the Bookblock to give strength to the book.

7. The Case Material, which is Genuine Cloth Library Wibalin in black colour, is cut to size.

8. The front and back boards for the Hard Book Case are cut and the Case is hand made by gluing the case material to the Boards and sized to match the Bookblock.

9. The finished Book is now assembled by Pasting the End Papers and attaching the Bookblock inside the Case.

10. The Book is now put in a traditional Book Clamp overnight for the glues to dry.

11. The final process is fitting the Jacket, which has been Laminated , to the finished Book.

Your Hand Made book made specially for you is now ready for shipping direct to your door.

Difference from first editions

HarperCollins has been careful to differentiate the Print on Demand editions from the original first editions. Print on demand editions will feature the publication date of 2010 and will have a new ISBN.

All out of print hardback editions, from 1 The Book of Lost Tales Part One through to 12 The Peoples of Middle Earth are now available as print on demand only through this website. We are also delighted to offer the highly sought after part 13 The History of Middle Earth Index. View the full range of The History of Middle-earth books here.